Sita Ashok (Saraca indica)

The Sita Ashoka is a rain-forest tree. The ashoka is prized for its beautiful foliage and fragrant flowers. It is a small, erect evergreen tree, with deep green leaves growing in dense clusters. Its flowering season is around February to April. The ashoka flowers come in heavy, lush bunches. They are bright orange-yellow in color, turning red before wilting. As a wild tree, the ashoka is a vulnerable species. It is becoming rarer in its natural habitat.

The ashoka tree is mentioned in the Ramayana in reference to the Ashoka Vatika (garden of ashoka trees) where Hanuman first meets Sita. Hence the Indian common name 'Sita Ashok'.